


safe again

by Youreritingsux



Series: eboys one shots (mlm) [13]
Category: Commentary crew, eboys - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Kidnapped, M/M, Original Character - Freeform, Other, Protective Will Lenney, Sad Alex Elmslie, angsty fluff, no real paring just sort fluff, the eboys take care of alex, will's espcially soft with him in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27424738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Youreritingsux/pseuds/Youreritingsux
Summary: alex escapes someone he's been living with for the past 16 years after finding out his whole life was a lie, and manages to land at the door step of three men, james, will and george.
Relationships: Alex Elmslie/James Marriott, Alex Elmslie/Will Lenney, George Andrew/Alex Elmslie, George Andrew/Alex Elmslie/Will Lenney/James Marriott
Series: eboys one shots (mlm) [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938247
Comments: 4
Kudos: 88





	safe again

**Author's Note:**

> idk if i'll write more of this? but if you guys like it enough ill  
> write another chapter too it! i left it kind of open ended but i  
> feel like i ended it nicely enough for it to be just a one shot  
> anyway o.o let me know what you think, would you want another  
> part?

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the wall of the basement had water stains on it from a pip that had never been properly fixed, only ever duck-taped over several times, then again no one was around anymore that could fix it. alex had watched that pip drip water through the tap several time while waiting for jonathan to come back from some late night scavenging. _jonathan_ his saving grace, or so he believed, a man in his mid fifties, he had black hair with silver peeking through, same with the bushy facial hair he had, he had dark green eyes that looked tired most of the time, the type that made alex flinch a bit whenever he looked like he was about to yell at him. roughly sixteen years had passed since jonathan, had saved alex. alex still remembered waking up as a child, - _five or six at the time_ \- scared when jonathan approached him, trembling and crying not understanding where he was or why his mom or dad wasn't their. jonathan had calmly explained to him what had happened.

" _hey, hey little guy, don't cry, i'm not gonna hurt ya_ " _his deep voice and irish accent almost made him feel safe "something bad happened kiddo, i don't expect you to understand, but nearly everyone's gone, you've been out for a few days, i found ye' passed out in the park, surprised those damned critters didn't gets to ya"_

jonathan was right, he was too young to understand at the time, but as the kind male raised him he understood more. some sort of chemical bomb went off, nearly most of the worlds population into vicious flesh eating monsters. because they only had one hazmat suit, and for his own safety alex wasn't allowed outside, so he never got to see the damage of the chemical bomb. but never the less he was always worried jonathan wouldn't come back, or would get hurt, not that he would be much help, he didn't have the survival skill jonathan had.

alex was sitting on his bed, he had just finished a book that jonathan managed to find on his way home, he had been taught what he would of learned in school by the older male. despite his cold eyes, and how harsh he could be, jonathan was kind, he had a huge soft side, and cared for the boy deeply, showing it in finding him small trinkets while hunting for supplies, and even managing to find some sort of sweet for him on his birthday last week when he had officially turned twenty-one. alex was just happy jonathan bothered to remember dates during all this mess. he hugged his knees and looked from the dripping pip to the door of the bunker, licking his lips. many, _many_ , times alex had been tempted to crawl up the ladder and take a peak outside, risk radiation. he was twenty-one and more curious then he was as a teenager, in fact during his teen years he was more compliant to just listen to jonathan, be a ' _good lad_ ' as he called it, but he was getting restless, he wanted to see the outside world no matter how horrible it maybe... _no matter how much it scared him_.

alex slowly got off of the bed, eyes locked on the doors in the ceiling, if jonathan found out he left the bunker, even for a second he would probably beat him, while the male never got physical with him, he didn't doubt that he would for disobeying one of the rules.

_"alex, i only have two rules for you" jonathan said as he sat watched the nine year old eat what he cooked "never, ever answer that door" he pointed to the hatchet on the roof "and never, and i mean never, go outside, its dangerous, and you could get hurt, and i don't know what i'd do if you got hurt bud" alex only nodded "promise me you'll follow those simple rules bud?"_

_"yeah... yeah i promise" alex said offering a weak sad smile_.

he hesitated as he got to the ladder, staring at it for a moment, it had been many years since the bombs dropped, the chemicals had to not be as bad as they once were. alex grabbed the crow bar in case he can into any of the creatures that jonathan had told him about. he put his free hand on the ladder, his foot resting on the bottom portion, alex could hear his heart beating in his ears. jonathan had been gone for an hour, he was usually gone for about five each time, he had time to go look around then get back before the older male came back. he slowly took his first step up, then second until he reached the closed door, his hands trembled as he unlatched and quickly shoved the door open, the cool breeze from outside hitting his face, he took a deep shaky breath, it felt nice to have some fresh air... or _chemically induced air_ he supposed.

alex peaked his head out to see what the world held. his crow bar fell the floor with a loud clang, it looked nothing like jonathan said it did. according to jonathan it was pretty much all barren land from the chemicals, the trees were supposed to be dead and rotted, monsters were suppose to be littered everywhere but all alex saw was a forest, almost like bob ross would teach him how to paint on his the tapes he watched. he slowly crawled out, seeing a few squirrels run up the tree. his whole world felt like it had shattered around him, _had everything he was told had been all a stupid lie that alex believed?_ he didn't know when he started crying, but the tears were now flowing easily from his eyes, his fist clenched as his dull nails dug into his palms, he felt so god damned stupid for believing in jonathan this whole time.

for a moment alex tried to hold on to the fact that jonathan could still be telling the truth, maybe they were just in a healthier part of it all, he knew there was really only one way too tell. he glanced back at his home, the possible lie of safety, contemplating crawling back in and pretending like he had never left, but as he looked back toward the forest and started walking, following the obvious foot path that jonathan took, it lead out to the road, where obvious tire marks laid. he stared at the road for awhile, before choosing a direction and walking.

alex wasn't sure how long he walked, or where he was going, but he needed to prove that jonathan wasn't lying to him, _maybe the trees had grown back and he just never mentioned it_ , he had prove to himself that his whole life wasn't some big lie, that jonathan wasn't one of those big scary kidnappers he heard about on those kid shows jonathan had found for him. he hugged himself, no more tears running down his face. he finally did get his answer though, he felt like crying all over again. _a town_ , a very lived in town at that, with obvious people resting in their homes, he hugged himself tighter, feeling himself breaking down, it was dark, besides the light of the town he had stumbled across.

"alex!" the boy froze as an angry voice he knew all to well yelled at him from behind "what are you doing get back here!" alex turned around to see jonathan strutting toward him.

alex started quickly backing up from the angry man " **you lied!** " he yelled " **you lied to me! you told me everyone...** " he was cut off by his own sob.

" _now common lad_ " jonathan said in softer voice "just come back home with me and we'll talk about it"

" **no!** " he ever surprised himself with that answer, all he wanted was comfort, was jonathan to wrap his arm around him and tell him everything was going to be okay... what was he supposed to do when the only person he trusted couldn't be trusted anymore? who was he supposed to turn to.

" _i said come here alexander_ " jonathan was firmer this time, still walking toward him as alex walked backward.

"and i said, no!" alex said his voice shaking, not as confident as jonathan, he spun on his heel and took off running into the town, jonathan taking off after him. alex didn't know if he was faster, but he did know he could try and confuse him, tears streamed down his face as he ran through yards, took corners, hopped fences, all with jonathan on his tail, when he was sure the male had lost him he ran to the nearest door and pounded as hard as he can " **let me in, let me in, please! fuck, please!** " he begged.

the door opened and alex didn't wait to be invited in, he pushed himself in closing the door behind him, his whole body trembled as adrenaline pumped through his veins, he didn't care if the person behind the door was safe, anything felt safer then jonathan at the moment. his lungs burned with each pant he took, his leg and feet ached, he couldn't tell if his face was wet due to tears or sweat, he yanked the loose clothing back onto his shoulder.

"jesus fella, you being hunted down by a murder?" the voice took a surprising joking tone, maybe trying to break the awkwardness of someone just barging into his house.

alex looked up, wide terrified eyes finally meeting confused bluish-grey ones, he had brown hair and was wearing a beanie, his jawline was sharp, along with the other features on him. he was obviously older then alex but couldn't be by much. the younger swallowed, he didn't even know how to begin to explain what was going on. he hardly to talked to begin with, he was already timid around jonathan, could he even trust the person who's house he barged in to? he hadn't thought about that before barging in he just wanted to get away from him at the time.

"oi! will! who was at the -" a larger male came in, broad and tall, taller then jonathan, looked stronger then him too, the size only made alex press himself up against the door though, terrified the other would be mad, he assumed the one who had answered was will though.

" _you know some people have regular sleeping patterns in this house!_ " another voice called, obviously stomping his way down the stairs "i'm sick off both you pretending like i don't sleep at a normal time could you keep it don't before i fuckin' - _oh hello_ " the other who had come in cut himself off, he was significantly shorter then the other two, maybe even shorter then alex himself.

will - the one who answered the door - shook his head a bit " _fuck sake_ " he mumbled under his breath "listen fella, maybe we could at least start with a name yeah? you seem terrified out of yer' wits but if we don't know why you can't stay in here, s'a little weird"

alex opened his mouth to say something only for jonathan voice to break through " **alex! common buddy, we need to go home, you can't go running off like this again!** " he suddenly didn't care that it was a bunch of stranger by him, he threw himself away from the door and clung onto will.

" _don't let him take me, please don't make me go back out their, please! he'll probably kill me, i'll do anything, i'll be a good boy! just don't let him take me back!_ " alex begged, even if he wanted to go back, their was no way jonathan was going to be nice to him now that he knew the truth.

will froze his arms up as the younger trembling boy begged him not to throw him out of the house, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around him and patted his head, nodding at the two watching them with a startled expression "ey' go phone for help, one of yas'" he said softly "don't worry fella, he won't find ya' in here, shhh, we won't force ya' out"

alex nodded but stayed clinging to the male, his arm tightening around them, anything to just feel a bit safe again.

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by the time the police had gotten there jonathan was no where to be found and alex he had told the story way more then he wanted to, once to james, george and will - _who he had learned the names of when they were locked in the house waiting_ \- and several times to several different police officers, which he only agreed to speak too if will was allowed to stay with him. alex was thankful that will hadn't let go of him, he just stayed with the boy, even though he didn't know him, the younger realistically knew it was probably because he looked pathetic and felt bad for him, but he'd take that.

"we can get you set up somewhere son, until we find your family" the head officer who had been talking to him most the night said.

"nonsense!" george spoke up bringing back a tea for the officer and alex.

"yeah, officer, he's been through enough already" james said, despite being the biggest out of all of them, he ended up being the gentlest, and alex started to feel more comfort from him then fear "he can stay here" he glanced at the others to who only nodded in approval.

"i... i don't want t' be a burden..." he mumbled timidly, though he had only curled more into will at the thought of being taken away.

"burden? ah! ridiculous fella, _stupid_ , that's stupid" will said looking down at him "yer' stayin' with us and that's final" this time he looked at the officer.

"well i suppose it would be easier then trying to put him up somewhere" the officer sighed before handing alex a card "if something happens before hand don't to hesitate to call me, we'll leave a police car here for the night just in case, and we'll put out a watch for this jonathan guy, we'll contact one of you then when we find anything out about alex and where he came from" the officer said.

james lead him out and exchanged information with him, and alex finally let go of will, looking between him and george "uh... f'anks for... for, y'know... helping me and lettin' me stay here" alex said.

"its no problem at all alex, you have to exhausted" george said.

"could probably use a bath or shower" james point out.

alex nodded a bit "yeah... i feel gross..." he mumbled.

"well ye' don't look the part" will smiled a bit ruffling the youngers hair, making alex actually crack a smile.

"follow me, i'll grab you some clothing too" james said.

"grab some of mine, we look about the same size" george called.

"you wish, al's at least got a good inch or two on ya'!" will teased as alex was starting to follow james out.

"shut up will you know what i mean!"

james shook his head slightly rolling his eyes as he lead alex up the stairs and to a bathroom, reaching in and flicking the light on. the younger boy stared into the bathroom and james waited for him to enter.

"nothing jonathan told me was true was it?" alex broke the silence as he stared into the bathroom with a distant look to his eyes, his whole world in small pieces on the ground.

james opened his mouth a few times before sighed and reaching back to rub his own neck "um... probably not..." there was a tenseness to his voice.

alex hugged himself, the bright pink sweater that jonathan had given him so long ago, three sizes to big for the boy but it smelt like their home, he wished he had never stepped out, he wanted to live in blissful ignorance again. james' hand rested softly between his shoulder blades and alex looked up at him.

"you are safe with us alex" he said each word carefully, as if making sure alex really heard it.

alex only nodded and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door and getting undressed. once he was under the shower head, the warm water dripping down on him, he broke down. he wanted jonathan, he wanted to be back home, he wanted his father figures arms wrapped tightly around him as he told him that he was protected and safe. alex wanted to live in that world again, no matter how scary the thought of monsters or them being the only people alive was, it was much scarier being without jonathan. he was kneeling on the uncomfortable bumpy surface of the shower floor as he sobbed, the water soaking the back of his head running down his back, as his forehead was resting against the shower floor. the door to the bathroom opened but he didn't bother getting up and pretending he was okay, he wasn't okay and he felt like he would never be again.

the shower door opened and alex curled into himself harder, but he couldn't even look up to see who it was. he didn't have to because eventually they did speak.

"alright fella... steady on..." will's voice was soft as he stepped into the shower with him and slowly forced him to stand up "you been in here for nearly two hours, can i get ya washed up, so we can get you to bed?"

alex nodded slowly, he didn't know if he could be bothered to even try himself, he felt pathetic and useless as will carefully scrubbed him but he didn't have it in him to take over. they got out of the shower and will dried him off, only then did alex notice will had been in the shower with his cloths on.

"'m sorry..." alex mumbled.

"ey' i don't wanna here none of that, yer' goin' through a lot, i wouldn't be in tip top shape either" will said.

alex slowly nodded, he didn't have it in him to say much else, it hurt to much to talk, or move, or do anything now. will helped him get dressed and took him to the guest room, a much nicer bed then he had down in the bunker but he didn't feel like he deserved it. he abandoned his protector, it seemed to only really be hitting him now, the only man he felt like he could ever trust, the hero of his story suddenly turned the villain. how the hell was he supposed to cope now?

"can you..." he stopped himself though before crawling into bed, but will seemed to get what he was going to asked and crawled into bed with him. alex silently wondered if everyone was this nice or if he had just lucked out with these guys, he curled in will and closed his eyes, he didn't know if his sleep would be peaceful, but he was to exhausted to really care what his dreams held for him.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments always appreciated <3


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